Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev, as a master of several artistic movements, was alien and inconvenient for many of his contemporaries. Having a liking for different types of painting and participating in several artistic associations, he confidently followed his own creative path.

The Peredvizhniki accused Kustodiev of being “popular”, modernists called him hopelessly straightforward, avant-garde artists were indignant at his umbilical attachment to their teacher Repin, proletarian artists saw in him “a singer of the merchant-kulak environment.” And all these accusations were provoked by the artist’s creative scatteredness.

In Kustodiev, several artistic attachments coexisted together, which distinguished him from others. It’s easy to see this if you take one year of his work offhand. For example, in 1920 he painted “Merchant’s Wife with a Mirror”, “Blue House”, “Merchant’s Wife with Purchases”, “Trinity Day (provincial holiday), a classic portrait of his wife, the painting “Bolshevik”, “May Day Parade. Petrograd. Field of Mars."

In an artistic environment, as in any other, you cannot be talented in everything. Kustodiev’s simultaneous appeal to completely different themes and styles came down to the lack of internal integrity of the artist. “Multipurpose” equaled “aimlessness,” which already foreshadowed a sad verdict on his future career.

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev was born in 1878 in Astrakhan. The artist’s father, a teacher at the theological seminary Mikhail Lukich Kustodiev, died of consumption when his son was in his second year. Mother Ekaterina Prokhorovna devotes herself entirely to her four children, instilling in them a love of music, literature, painting, theater...

The family lived in a rented small wing of a merchant's house. Years later, childhood impressions of the merchant world will be materialized in the paintings of B. M. Kustodiev. Here is what the artist himself recalled about this period:

“The whole way of rich and abundant merchant life was in full view... These were Ostrovsky’s living types...”

From the age of seven, Boris attended a parochial school, then moved to a gymnasium. At the age of 14, Boris begins his studies at the theological seminary and at the same time attends classes with the famous artist P. A. Vlasov. In 1887, having visited for the first time an exhibition of paintings by the Wanderers, he finally decided to become an artist. In 1896, on the advice of his first teacher P. A. Vlasov, Boris entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. After two years of studying in general classes, he was accepted into I. Repin’s workshop. The young student writes a lot from life and is interested in portraiture.

Before graduating from the Academy, as the best student, he was involved in working on a painting commissioned from his mentor, “The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901.” For this canvas, Kustodiev painted 27 portraits. Repin himself sometimes did not distinguish between his own and Kustodiev’s sketches in this work.

Kustodiev was extremely energetic; along with sketches, he painted portraits of people close to him in spirit: I. Ya. Bilibin, D. L. Moldovtsev, V. V. Mate...

In 1901, at the Munich International Exhibition, the portrait of I. Ya. Bilibin was awarded a gold medal.

In 1903, Kustodiev was awarded a gold medal and the right to a pensioner internship abroad for one year for his thesis “Bazaar in the Village.” In the same year, he married Yulia Evstafievna Proshinskaya, a former Smolyanka. Kustodiev met his fate back in 1900 while traveling along the Volga. On his first European trip to France and Spain, the artist was accompanied by his wife and newly born son Kirill. Yu. E. Proshinskaya was the artist’s most faithful friend. In 1905, a house-workshop was built near Kineshma, which the artist lovingly called “Terem”. The family spent every summer here, and this time was the happiest for her.

B. M. Kustodiev did not limit himself exclusively to painting; he was engaged in the design and illustration of works of Russian classics. Among them: “Dubrovsky” by A. S. Pushkin, “Dead Souls” and stories by N. V. Gogol, “Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov” by M. Yu. Lermontov, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” by N. S. Leskov, “Singers” "I. S. Turgenev, poems by N. A. Nekrasov, stories by A. N. Tolstoy...

The main theme of the artist’s work was family. In Paris, he painted the lyrical painting “Morning,” where he depicts his wife and his first-born son bathing in a trough. The mother gently holds the back and legs of the child with her hands, who is clapping his hands in the water. Warm rays of the sun shine from the window, brightly illuminating the table, the fireplace and the mother bending over the child. Sunbeams play in the water, which the baby does not take his eyes off, clumsily trying to catch. It is no coincidence that the child is depicted in the center of the picture. He is the meaning of a family’s life, the joy of being, made up of the blood affection of mother and child.

The very plot of the painting suggests that for the artist, family happiness lies in a baby “bathing” in maternal love.

In search of himself, Kustodiev returns to his wife’s homeland, to the Kostroma province, urgently interrupting his pensioner period of stay abroad.

Since 1900, he has traveled a lot in his native country and abroad, getting acquainted with the works of old and modern masters.

Kustodiev’s formative years as an artist coincided with an increased interest in graphics in the artistic community. Not only representatives of the World of Art, but also Kustodiev’s teacher I.E. Repin were involved in drawing.

Kustodiev, of course, did not stand aside, declaring himself as a wonderful draftsman.

During the first Russian Revolution, he contributed to satirical magazines, creating cartoons and caricatures of influential dignitaries. He created a mass of graphically sharp portraits, nudes, many studies and sketches, allowing him to study in detail the mechanisms of this period of creativity.

In 1907, Kustodiev received the title of member of the Union of Russian Artists, and in 1909 - the title of academician of painting. His paintings are shown at domestic and international exhibitions. Many influential people commission portraits from him.

By the end of the 1900s, the Kustodievs already had two children. From the memories of daughter Irina:

“I remember my father when he was still young, unusually active, elegant, cheerful, affectionate. I remember an apartment near the Kalinkin Bridge, on Myasnaya Street, 19. We lived on the third floor. The height of the rooms is unusual. There are five rooms, all of them arranged in a suite. The first is a living room with green striped wallpaper. Behind the living room there is a workshop with two windows, a dining room, a children's room and a parents' bedroom. Parallel to the rooms there is a huge corridor where Kirill and I skated around on roller skates. They ran hide and seek. Sometimes my dad also put on roller skates: he generally loved roller skating. Our house was always full of dogs and cats. Dad closely followed their “personal life”, loved to watch them, and imitated their habits with amazing skill. It seems to me that in this he was similar to A.P. Chekhov - both of them “respected” animals and depicted them in their works as equal “members of society.”

In the 1900s, Kustodiev was interested in sculpture. The heroes of his sculptural portraits were A. M. Remizov, F. K. Sologub, M. V. Dobuzhinsky, Emperor Nicholas II... At different periods of his life, sculptural portraits of the artist’s family were created: “Children” (1909), “Mother with Child” ( 1910), made in memory of the artist’s youngest son, who died after his birth.

Many art historians attribute a distinctive feature to Kustodiev painting - theatricality. Kustodiev did a lot for the theater. The success of many theatrical productions in the capital's theaters depended largely on the artist.

In 1911, Kustodiev wrote the scenery for the play based on A. Ostrovsky’s play “Warm Heart” for the Moscow theater of K. N. Nezlobin. Sketches for the performance were created in Switzerland, where the artist was treated for a diagnosis of bone tuberculosis. Along with recognition and fame comes trouble - a serious illness.

In 1913, in Berlin, he underwent the first operation to remove a tumor in the spinal canal. In 1916 there was a repeat operation, after which the lower part of the body was paralyzed. Then the doctors asked Yu. E. Kustodieva’s wife what to save: arms or legs? “Of course, hands. “He is an artist, and he cannot live without hands,” she answered.

At this most difficult time for the artist, the most festive pictures of colorful provincial life appear, the famous beautiful merchant women... Finding himself cut off from the outside world, he writes fantastic works, more real than reality itself.

In 1913-1916, a group portrait of the artists of the “World of Art” was created (N.K. Roerich (1913), M.V. Dobuzhinsky (1913), I.Ya. Bilibin (1914), E.E. Lansere (1915). I. E. Grabar (1916)). These portraits are distinguished by skill and originality of composition.

The artist received the revolution of 1917 with enthusiasm. On the eve of the anniversary of the October Revolution, he takes part in the decoration of Petrograd. In the 20s, he depicted modern life in his canvases in festive processions and political demonstrations, and was engaged in illustrating Lenin’s collections. In 1925 he went to Moscow to design several performances at the new theater. One of the performances he designed was “The Flea,” written by E. I. Zamyatin based on “Lefty” by N. S. Leskov. The Kustodiev scenery mixed everything that appealed to the viewer: fun and tragedy, parody, reality, popular print, grotesque... He designed Ostrovsky’s plays “Our People - We Will Be Numbered”, “Wolves and Sheep”, “There Wasn’t a Penny, Yes Suddenly Altyn", "Thunderstorm".

However, not all of his plans were implemented.

Due to the progression of the disease, the artist could not cope with a cold, which resulted in pneumonia. On May 26, 1927, his heart stopped. B. M. Kustodiev was only 49 years old.

Famous paintings by B. M. Kustodiev

Kustodiev's holiday paintings are imbued with love for everything Russian. They will be understandable and interesting to preschool children.

"Maslenitsa" (1916)

The famous painting “Maslenitsa” is a symbol of the artist’s creative maturity. Early March. There are still winter frosts. All the trees are shrouded in white fluffy frost. The spring sky, painted with delicate pink, green, and yellow colors, spreads over the snow-covered city. Birds from distant lands return with loud cries.

Crowds of people took to the city streets. It is felt that all the people, from rich to poor, were looking forward to the end of winter. The sky, birds, people rejoice at the arrival of spring. Townspeople, young and old, gathered at the booths for cheerful performances. Children ride down the icy mountains and play at taking the snowy town. In the foreground of the picture there are huge snowdrifts with fresh marks from felt boots, which emphasizes the crowded nature of the holiday.

Decorated sleighs drawn by pairs and threes of horses are flying everywhere. On logs near the very outskirts of the city, people welcome spring with Maslenitsa songs accompanied by an accordion. Maslenitsa is celebrated on a grand scale: the accordion plays, birds scream, children laugh, runners creak, buffoons make noise...

The bright horse harness with bells and painted arches, the elegant attire of the townspeople, and the flying flags at the booths give the picture a festive feel. We see and hear the Russian daring Maslenitsa.

The artist managed to show us the aesthetic, theatrical side of the holiday, its special flavor, publicity, and street character.

In Russian literature, the painting “Maslenitsa” found many “responses”. In I. Shmelev’s novel “The Summer of the Lord” there is an excerpt:

“Maslenitsa...Even now I still feel this word... bright spots, ringing sounds - it evokes in me; flaming stoves, bluish waves of smoke... a bumpy snowy road, already oily in the sun, with cheerful sleighs diving along it, with cheerful horses in roses, bells and bells, with playful strumming of an accordion..."

The painting was painted after the second operation, at a time when doctors prescribed complete rest to the artist.

Repin accepted the work enthusiastically, perceiving in it the search for a new ideal of beauty. A scandal broke out at the Academy of Arts when purchasing the painting “Maslenitsa”. Some council members decided that this work had nothing to do with art, calling it “popular print.”

“I think,” he said, “the diversity and brightness is very typical of Russian life.”

Tell your child about the history of the celebration. Look carefully at the picture and try, together with your son (daughter), to describe Maslenitsa and the traditions of its celebration.

Offer your child an exciting journey through Kustodiev’s paintings. This excursion is unusual. A beautiful, kind fairy tale is composed of the brightest Kustodiev paintings. Welcome to the fairy tale!

Children of middle school age usually become acquainted with some of Kustodiev’s portraits at school. Parents should be familiar with the artist's portraits in order to answer all the child's questions.

Portrait of F. I. Chaliapin

The acquaintance of the two great people took place in 1919. Chaliapin turned to Kustodiev with a proposal to make the scenery and costumes for the opera “Enemy Power” based on A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “Don’t Live the Way You Want,” which he staged at the Mariinsky Theater.

The portrait was created thanks to a fur coat, which attracted the artist’s attention. At the first meeting, the artist asked Chaliapin:

“...Pose for me in this fur coat. Your fur coat is too rich.”

Chaliapin loved the artist’s provincial paintings, which amaze, in his words, “with such cheerful ease of drawing and such appetizing richness of paint in the tireless depiction of Russian people.” It so happened that one day he too became the hero of Kustodiev’s portrait.

F. I. Chaliapin recalled:

“I have known a lot of interesting, talented and good people in my life, but if I have ever seen a truly high spirit in a person, it was in Kustodiev... It is impossible to think without excitement about the greatness of the moral force that lived in this man and which would otherwise cannot be called heroic and valiant.”

Chaliapin posed for the wheelchair-bound artist. The canvas with the stretcher had to be moved with a special device mounted under the ceiling.

Initially the painting was titled “F. I. Chaliapin in an unfamiliar city."

The portrait of Chaliapin enjoys special fame. The singer's figure occupies the entire foreground. It barely fits into the canvas format. A beautiful ruddy face, a free stage pose, a ring on the little finger, an open fur coat with shimmering fur, a concert costume with a bow, a colorful scarf fluttering in the wind, a cane set aside...

The portrait conveys the spirit of creativity of the owner of a unique voice. The landscape background with folk festivities, aptly chosen by the artist, emphasizes Chaliapin as a man of a broad soul. Behind the artist’s back there is everything that usually happens at Russian Maslenitsa: booths, tables with food, painted carts, ice slides... A poster on the street corner announcing Chaliapin’s tour indicates Chaliapin’s great love for Russian traditions and his homeland.

At the feet of the folk singer stands his favorite dog - a white bulldog. The appearance of this real character in the portrait speaks of the author’s good-natured irony, which was present when creating the picture.

Tell your child about the life and work of F.I. Chaliapin, about his acquaintance with the artist Kustodiev. Listen to his songs.

Children can begin to get acquainted with the gallery of merchant images at primary school age.

"Merchant's Wife at Tea" (1918)

The merchant image personifies the harmony of the Russian world. The artist seems to be saying goodbye to a familiar, understandable, close world for him, defeated (overthrown) in a few days... The work sounds a nostalgic note for the past of Russia, for the picturesque life of the Russian province...

Before us is a Volga town where the artist spent his childhood, where a quiet and measured life flowed.

The merchant's wife embodies the ideal of folk beauty: arched eyebrows, bow-shaped lips, a luxurious body, proud to become... A well-groomed face with a pronounced healthy blush speaks of her peace. An important cat, very similar to its owner, clung to the heroine’s shoulder. He is comfortable in this world. On the table there is a huge samovar, a vase with jam, bowls of fruit, a basket with buns and sweets... There is a saucer in the merchant’s hand. Shown here is an old tradition that existed in Rus' - drinking tea from a saucer.

In the distance, on the veranda, a merchant family is sitting having tea. The artist emphasizes the iron regularity of her existence against the background of a frozen landscape and a provincial town, showing time as if stopped.

In the year the picture was created, the year of famine and devastation, the collapse of old Russia occurs, a civil war breaks out, human life depreciates...

Until recently, incorrect associations associated with the Kustodiev merchant women were accepted. The description of the painting corresponded to political requirements. And the arbitrary meaning of the works was chosen, far from the author’s. Lazy merchant women symbolized a well-fed, frozen merchant Russia. The description of the painting was as follows: The merchant's wife has a narrow range of interests. She thoughtlessly and languidly looks at the life around them. It is no coincidence that the lush still life was introduced into the picture. It helps to imagine the environment of abundance in which the heroine lives. In the paintings we see ripe fruits and vegetables (“The Merchant’s Wife”), watermelon, grapes, apples, gilded cups (“The Merchant’s Wife at Tea”), rings, silk, necklaces (“The Merchant’s Wife with a Mirror”)...

Nowadays, parents and teachers should look at things objectively and should not impose the wrong point of view on the child.

Tell your child about the artist’s childhood and the history of merchants in Rus'. It is important to show merchant life, its way of life and foundations as a significant part of Russian culture.

Ask your child to describe the picture and name the Russian features of merchant life that the artist depicted.

Kustodiev’s works dedicated to the revolution arouse interest among children of high school age. It is difficult for a high school student to understand the meaning of these works. The parents’ task is to study the works and explain their content. It is incorrect to talk to a child about Kustodiev’s closeness to Bolshevik ideas. Kustodiev belonged to that part of the intelligentsia that greeted the February Revolution with the expectation of change. The October Revolution split society, which resulted in a bloody civil war.

"Bolshevik" (1919)

Some art historians argue that the Bolshevik, in his appearance, determination and courage, resembles the “All-Russian elder” M.I. Kalinin.

The image of a Bolshevik is a generalized image that expresses the scale of the transformations that turned Russia upside down. Kustodiev managed to summarize his own impressions of the revolution using allegory. A crowd flows through the narrow streets of Moscow in a viscous stream. The sky is shining. The sun casts its rays on the roofs of houses, forming blue shadows. A Bolshevik walks above the crowd and houses with a red banner in his hands. The scarlet banner flutters in the wind, capturing the entire city with its flame. A red cloth covered the upper part of the church dome, where the cross is attached, which symbolizes the denial of Orthodoxy in the new ideology. Bright colors give the picture a major sound. The picture evokes fear and anxiety. The armed people below are in a hurry to deal with the old world. There is coldness in the eyes of the huge Bolshevik, as a sign of the irreversibility of change.

The picture “Bolshevik” is quite complex. To understand the author's intention, it is necessary to carefully consider its individual details.

B. M. Kustodiev lived in an era that could not but affect his work. He strove for freedom, truth and beauty, and his dream came true.

I. E. Repin gave a high assessment of Kustodiev’s work, calling him “a hero of Russian painting.”

Here is what the artist N.A. Sautin wrote about him:

“Kustodiev is an artist of versatile talent. A magnificent painter. He entered Russian art as the author of significant works of the everyday genre, original landscapes and portraits with deep content. An excellent draftsman and graphic artist. Kustodiev worked in linocut and woodcuts, performed book illustrations and theatrical sketches. He developed his own original artistic system, managed to feel and embody the original features of Russian life.”

Dear reader! What attracts you to the work of the artist B. M. Kustodiev?

Children of the artist Kustodiev

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev is an artist of rare boundless talent, who, first of all, was characterized by a special feeling and perception of his native nature.

Kustodiev could not only see and appreciate the beauty of the natural world, but it was also in his power and in his power to recreate and embody this complex world of living nature in as much detail as possible on his artistic canvases.

Like most of the author’s works, Kustodiev’s landscape paintings are particularly bright, expressive and rich in color schemes. In Kustodiev’s paintings, nature is always much more than just a landscape image. Kustodiev creates his own artistic description of nature, makes it extremely individual, original, and unlike anything else.

In this regard, one of Kustodiev’s works, written by the artist in 1918, “Horses during a thunderstorm,” is especially noticeable.

The painting “Horses during a thunderstorm” is an example of talented oil painting. At the moment, the canvas belongs to the collection of fine art of the 20th century of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The central image and motif of the canvas is stated in the very title of the painting.

Kustodiev Boris Mikhailovich (Kustodiev Boris) (1878-1927), Russian artist. Born in Astrakhan on February 23 (March 7), 1878 in the family of a theological seminary teacher.

Having visited the exhibition of the Itinerants in 1887 and seeing paintings by real painters for the first time, young Kustodiev was shocked. He firmly decided to become an artist. After graduating from theological seminary in 1896, Kustodiev went to St. Petersburg and entered the Academy of Arts. While studying in the workshop of I. E. Repin, Kustodiev writes a lot from life, striving to master the skill of conveying the colorful diversity of the world.

Repin invited the young artist to co-author the painting “Meeting of the State Council” (1901-1903, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). Already in these years, the virtuoso talent of Kustodiev, a portrait painter, manifested itself (I. Ya. Bilibin, 1901). Living in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Kustodiev often visited picturesque corners of the Russian province, primarily in the cities and villages of the Upper Volga, where the artist’s brush created famous images of Russian traditional life (a series of “fairs”, “Maslenitsa”, “village holidays”) and colorful folk types (“merchant women”, “merchants”, beauties in the bathhouse - “Russian Venuses”). These series and related paintings (portrait of F. I. Chaliapin, 1922, Russian Museum) are like colorful dreams about old Russia.

Although paralysis confined the artist to a wheelchair in 1916, Kustodiev continued to work actively in various forms of art, continuing his popular “Volga” series.

After the revolution, Kustodiev created his best works in the field of book illustration (“Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District” by N. S. Leskov; “Rus” by E. I. Zamyatin; both works - 1923; and other drawings) and stage design (“Flea” by Zamyatin in Second Moscow Art Theater, 1925; and other scenery). Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev died in Leningrad on May 26, 1927.

One of the favorite characters in Kustodiev’s works was the portly, healthy merchant’s wife. The artist painted merchants' bills many times - in the interior and against the backdrop of a landscape, naked and in elegant dresses. The painting “Merchant's Wife at Tea” is unique in its impressive strength and harmonious integrity. In the plump, immensely fat Russian beauty sitting on the balcony at a table laden with dishes, the image of the merchant’s wife takes on a truly symbolic resonance. The details in the canvas carry great meaning: a fat lazy cat rubbing against the owner’s shoulder, a merchant couple drinking tea on a nearby balcony, a city depicted in the background with churches and shopping arcades, and, in particular, a magnificent “gastronomic” still life. A ripe red watermelon with black seeds, a fat muffin, buns, fruit, porcelain, a large samovar - all this is written in an unusually material and tangible way and at the same time not illusory, but deliberately simplified, like on shop signs.

In the hungry year of 1918, in the cold and devastation, the sick artist dreamed of beauty, a full-blooded bright life, and abundance. However, the savoring of a well-fed, thoughtless existence is accompanied here, as in other works by Kustodiev, with light irony and a good-natured grin.

Youth always attracts with its brightness, beauty, and freshness. The artist presents us with an ordinary scene from the life of a merchant. A young girl tries on a new silk shawl. The picture is full of details that reveal the character of the heroine. Jewelry is laid out on the table, a girl from the servants is sorting through furs, a green chest by the stove clearly hides the heroine’s “riches.” A smiling merchant in a rich fur coat stands at the door. He admires his daughter, who is captivated by her new wardrobe.

Kustodiev always drew his inspiration from Russian popular prints. So his famous “Beauty” seems to have been copied from a popular print or from a Dymkovo toy. However, it is known that the artist painted from life, and it is also known that the model was a famous actress of the Art Theater.

The artist approaches the curvaceous forms of his model delicately and with good humor. The beauty herself is not at all embarrassed, she calmly, with some curiosity, watches the viewer, very pleased with the impression she makes. Her pose is chaste. White curvaceous body, blue eyes, golden hair, blush, scarlet lips - before us is a truly beautiful woman.

The exuberant luxury of colors blooms in lush colors in Kustodiev’s paintings, as soon as he turns to his favorite theme: depicting the foundations of life in the outback, its foundations, its roots. A colorfully depicted tea party in the courtyard cannot but please the eye with all the love of life that reigns in the picture.

Stately backs, proud posture, the obvious slowness of every movement, the conscious sense of self-esteem that is felt in all female figures - this is old Suzdal, the way the artist sees, feels, feels it. And he is all in front of us in full view - alive and bright, real. Warm. He definitely invites you to the table!

Depicted are Yulia Evstafievna Kustodieva, the artist’s wife, with her first-born son Kirill (1903-1971). The picture was painted in Paris.

According to Kustodiev’s style, the sunny day in the painting is filled with rich colors. Blue sky, green hillside, mirror-like shine of water, sunny yellow swimming pool - all together make up a warm summer.

The bathers are depicted by the artist schematically, very delicately. Kustodiev himself seems to take the viewer’s gaze away from the bathhouse and draws attention to the surrounding nature, filling it with unnatural bright colors.

Life goes on as usual on the shore. Boatmen offer the public a ride along the river; a loaded cart struggles up the mountain. On the hill there is a red church.

Twice the artist depicted the Russian tricolor. A white, blue and red cloth decorates the bathhouse and the side of a large boat. Most likely, we have a holiday ahead of us. Summer is a holiday for everyone who is able to appreciate it.

The bathers are having a leisurely conversation, enjoying the warmth, sun, and river. Slow, measured, happy life.

The artist depicted a very piquant scene. The brownie, walking around his property, froze in amazement in front of the naked body of the sleeping mistress of the house. But the details still tell the viewer that the heroine of the picture has prepared everything for this scene. The hot stove is left open so that the fire provides light. The pose is carefully thought out. One gets the feeling that the hostess’s dream is theatrical. It’s as if the beauty herself is luring the brownie to look at him. Fairy tale, Christmas story, miracle.

An elegant, fair-haired, dazzlingly beautiful merchant's wife - on the one hand, an eerie, fur-covered, pot-bellied brownie - on the other. They are like the embodiment of merchant female and male beauty. Two different beginnings, opposites.

This portrait is an early work of the master. It was created in the academic workshop of I. Repin. In this work, Kustodiev’s style barely shows through. It just hasn't formed yet. Bilibin is depicted very realistically. Before us is an exquisitely dressed young man: a black frock coat, a snow-white shirt. The red flower in the buttonhole is a detail that characterizes the model. The hero is dapper, a lover of women and entertainment. The look is ironic, even funny. The facial features are correct. Before us is a handsome young man.

The Moscow tavern is a special, difficult place. The main thing in it is communication and relaxation. This is exactly how the tavern appears in the picture. The sex workers serving visitors are graceful and graceful. Red ceilings and vaults give the work a joyful and festive atmosphere. Judging by the bunch of willow behind the icon, the action takes place on the eve of Easter.

In the center of the tavern, a very colorful group sat at one table. Their identical clothes identify them as cab drivers taking a tea break. The cab drivers sip their tea with decorum and dignity. Like medieval guild masters during a solemn ceremony. Musical accompaniment is provided by songbirds in cages under the ceiling. The elder of the respected congregation sits under the icon. One can even discern some similarity between the image on this icon and the stern and solemn face of the chairman of the tea party.

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev (February 23 (March 7) 1878, Astrakhan - May 26, 1927, Leningrad) - Russian Soviet artist. Academician of painting (1909). Member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (since 1923). Portrait painter, theater artist, decorator.

Boris Kustodiev was born in Astrakhan. His father, Mikhail Lukich Kustodiev (1841-1879), was a professor of philosophy, literary history and taught logic at a local theological seminary.

His father died when the future artist was not even two years old. Boris studied at a parochial school, then at a gymnasium. From the age of 15 he took drawing lessons from a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts P. Vlasov.

In 1896 he entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He studied first in the workshop of V. E. Savinsky, from the second year - with I. E. Repin. He took part in the work on Repin’s painting “The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901” (1901-1903, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). Despite the fact that the young artist gained wide fame as a portrait painter, for his competition work Kustodiev chose a genre theme (“At the Bazaar”) and in the fall of 1900 he went to the Kostroma province in search of nature. Here Kustodiev met his future wife, 20-year-old Yulia Evstafievna Proshinskaya. Subsequently, the artist completed several picturesque portraits of his beloved wife.

On October 31, 1903, he completed the training course with a gold medal and the right to an annual pensioner's trip abroad and throughout Russia. Even before finishing the course, he took part in international exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Munich (big gold medal of the International Association).

In December 1903, he came to Paris with his wife and son. During his trip, Kustodiev visited Germany, Italy, Spain, studied and copied the works of old masters. Entered the studio of Rene Menard.

Six months later, Kustodiev returned to Russia and worked in the Kostroma province on a series of paintings “Fairs” and “Village Holidays”.
In 1904 he became a founding member of the New Society of Artists. In 1905-1907 he worked as a cartoonist in the satirical magazine “Zhupel” (the famous drawing “Introduction. Moscow”), after its closure - in the magazines “Hellish Mail” and “Iskra”. Since 1907 - member of the Union of Russian Artists. In 1909, on the recommendation of Repin and other professors, he was elected a member of the Academy of Arts. At the same time, Kustodiev was asked to replace Serov as a teacher of the portrait-genre class at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, but fearing that this activity would take a lot of time from personal work and not wanting to move to Moscow, Kustodiev refused the position. Since 1910 - a member of the renewed "World of Art".

In 1909, Kustodiev showed the first signs of a spinal cord tumor. Several operations brought only temporary relief; For the last 15 years of his life, the artist was confined to a wheelchair. Due to illness, he was forced to write his works while lying down. However, it was during this difficult period of his life that his most vibrant, temperamental, and cheerful works appeared.

He lived in Petrograd-Leningrad during the post-revolutionary years. He was buried at the Nikolskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1948, the ashes and monument were moved to the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Wife - Yulia Evstafievna Kustodieva, nee Proshinskaya born in 1880. In 1900, she met her future husband in the Kostroma province, where Boris Kustodiev went to sketch in the summer. She reciprocated the young artist’s feelings and became his wife, taking her husband’s surname. In their marriage, the Kustodievs had a son, Kirill, and a daughter, Irina. The third child, Igor, died in infancy. Yulia Kustodieva survived her husband and died in 1942.

In 1905-1907 he worked in the satirical magazines “Zhupel” (the famous drawing “Introduction. Moscow”), “Hell Mail” and “Iskra”.

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Kustodiev Boris Mikhailovich
Born: February 23 (March 7), 1878.
Died: May 28, 1927 (age 49).

Biography

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev February 23 (March 7) 1878, Astrakhan - May 26, 1927, Leningrad) - Russian artist.

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev, originally from the family of a gymnasium teacher, began studying painting in Astrakhan with P. A. Vlasov in 1893-1896.

Boris Kustodiev was born in Astrakhan. His father was a professor of philosophy, history of literature and taught logic at the local theological seminary.

His father died when the future artist was not even two years old. Boris studied at a parish school, then at a gymnasium. From the age of 15 he took drawing lessons from a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts P. Vlasov.

In 1896 he entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He studied first in the workshop of V. E. Savinsky, and from the second year - with I. E. Repin. He took part in the work on Repin’s painting “The Ceremonial Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901” (1901–1903, Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). Despite the fact that the young artist gained wide fame as a portrait painter, for his competition work Kustodiev chose a genre theme (“At the Market”) and in the fall of 1900 he went to the Kostroma province in search of nature. Here Kustodiev meets his future wife Yu. E. Poroshinskaya. On October 31, 1903, he completed the course with a gold medal and the right to an annual pensioner’s trip abroad and throughout Russia. Even before finishing the course, he took part in international exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Munich (big gold medal of the International Association).

In December 1903, he came to Paris with his wife and son. During his trip, Kustodiev visited Germany, Italy, Spain, studied and copied the works of old masters. Entered the studio of Rene Menard.

Six months later, Kustodiev returned to Russia and worked in the Kostroma province on the series of paintings “Fairs” and “Village Holidays”. In 1904 he became a founding member of the New Society of Artists. In 1905–1907 worked as a cartoonist in the satirical magazine “Zhupel” (the famous drawing “Introduction. Moscow”), after its closure - in the magazines “Hell Mail” and “Iskra”. Since 1907 - member of the Union of Russian Artists. In 1909, on the recommendation of Repin and other professors, he was elected a member of the Academy of Arts. At the same time, Kustodiev was offered to replace Serov as a teacher of the portrait-genre class at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, but, fearing that this activity would take a lot of time from personal work and not wanting to move to Moscow, Kustodiev refused the position. Since 1910 - a member of the renewed "World of Art".

1913 - taught at the New Art Workshop (St. Petersburg). 1923 - member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia. In 1909, Kustodiev showed the first signs of a spinal cord tumor. Several operations brought only temporary relief; for the last 15 years of his life, the artist was confined to a wheelchair. Due to illness at work, he was forced to write while lying down. However, it was during this difficult period of his life that his most vibrant, temperamental, and cheerful works appeared.

He lived in Petrograd-Leningrad during the post-revolutionary years. He was buried at the Nikolskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1948, the ashes and monument were moved to the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Wife - Kustodieva Yu. E.

Addresses in St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad

1914 - apartment building - Ekateringofsky Avenue, 105;
1915 - 05/26/1927 - apartment building of E.P. Mikhailov - Vvedenskaya street, 7, apt. 50.

Illustrations and book graphics

In 1905–1907 he worked in the satirical magazines “Zhupel” (the famous drawing “Introduction. Moscow”), “Hell Mail” and “Iskra”.

Kustodiev, who has a keen sense of line, performed cycles of illustrations for classical works and for the creations of his contemporaries (illustrations for Leskov’s works “The Darner”, 1922, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District”, 1923).

Possessing a strong touch, he worked in the technique of lithography and engraving on linoleum.

Painting

Kustodiev began his career as a portrait artist. Already while working on sketches for Repin’s “Great Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901,” student Kustodiev showed his talent as a portrait painter. In sketches and portrait sketches for this multi-figure composition, he coped with the task of achieving similarities with Repin’s creative style. But Kustodiev the portrait painter was closer to Serov. Painterly plasticity, free long strokes, bright characteristics of appearance, emphasis on the artistry of the model - these were mostly portraits of fellow students and teachers of the Academy - but without Serov's psychologism. Kustodiev incredibly quickly for a young artist, but deservedly won fame as a portrait painter among the press and customers. However, according to A. Benoit:

“... the real Kustodiev is a Russian fair, motley, “big-eyed” calicoes, a barbaric “fight of colors”, a Russian suburb and a Russian village, with their accordions, gingerbread, dressed up girls and dashing guys... I claim that this is his real sphere, his real joy... When he writes fashionable ladies and respectable citizens, it is completely different - boring, sluggish, often even tasteless. And it seems to me that it’s not the plot, but the approach to it.”

Already from the beginning of the 1900s, Boris Mikhailovich was developing a unique genre of portrait, or rather, portrait-picture, portrait-type, in which the model is linked together with the surrounding landscape or interior. At the same time, this is a generalized image of a person and his unique individuality, revealing it through the world surrounding the model. In their form, these portraits are related to the genre images-types of Kustodiev (“Self-portrait” (1912), portraits of A. I. Anisimov (1915), F. I. Chaliapin (1922)).

But Kustodiev’s interests went beyond the portrait: it was no coincidence that he chose a genre painting (“At the Bazaar” (1903), not preserved) for his diploma work. In the early 1900s, for several years in a row he went to perform field work in the Kostroma province. In 1906, Kustodiev appeared with works that were new in their concept - a series of canvases on the themes of brightly festive peasant and provincial petty-bourgeois-merchant life (“Balagany”, “Maslenitsa”), in which the features of Art Nouveau are visible. The works are spectacular and decorative, revealing the Russian character through the everyday genre. On a deeply realistic basis, Kustodiev created a poetic dream, a fairy tale about provincial Russian life. In these works, great importance is attached to line, drawing, and color spots; forms are generalized and simplified - the artist turns to gouache and tempera. The artist's works are characterized by stylization - he studies Russian parsuna of the 16th–18th centuries, popular prints, signs of provincial shops and taverns, and folk crafts.

Subsequently, Kustodiev gradually shifted more and more towards an ironic stylization of folk and, especially, the life of the Russian merchants with a riot of colors and flesh (“Beauty”, “Russian Venus”, “Merchant’s Wife at Tea”).

Theater works

Like many artists of the turn of the century, Kustodiev also worked in the theater, transferring his vision of the work to the theater stage. The scenery performed by Kustodiev was colorful, close to his genre painting, but this was not always perceived as an advantage: creating a bright and convincing world, carried away by its material beauty, the artist sometimes did not coincide with the author’s plan and the director’s reading of the play (“The Death of Pazukhin” by Saltykov- Shchedrin, 1914, Moscow Art Theater; “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky, which never saw the light of day, 1918). In his later works for the theater, he moves away from a chamber interpretation to a more generalized one, seeks greater simplicity, builds the stage space, giving freedom to the director when constructing mise-en-scenes. Kustodiev's success was his design work in 1918–1920. opera performances (1920, “The Tsar’s Bride”, Bolshoi Opera Theater of the People’s House; 1918, “Snow Maiden”, Bolshoi Theater (not staged)). Scenery sketches, costumes and props for A. Serov’s opera “The Power of the Enemy” (Academic (former Mariinsky) Theater, 1921)

The productions of Zamyatin’s “The Flea” (1925, Moscow Art Theater 2nd; 1926, Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater) were successful. According to the memoirs of the director of the play A.D. Dikiy:

“It was so vivid, so precise that my role as a director accepting sketches was reduced to zero - I had nothing to correct or reject. It was as if he, Kustodiev, had been in my heart, overheard my thoughts, read Leskov’s story with the same eyes as me, and equally saw it in stage form. ... I have never had such complete, such inspiring like-mindedness with an artist as when working on the play “The Flea.” I learned the full meaning of this community when Kustodiev’s farcical, bright decorations appeared on the stage, and props and props made according to his sketches appeared. The artist led the entire performance, taking, as it were, the first part in the orchestra, which obediently and sensitively sounded in unison.”

After 1917, the artist participated in the decoration of Petrograd for the first anniversary of the October Revolution, painted posters, popular prints and paintings on revolutionary themes (“Bolshevik”, 1919–1920, Tretyakov Gallery; “Celebration in honor of the 2nd Congress of the Comintern on Uritsky Square”, 1921 , Russian Museum).

Memory

In 1978, a series of stamps with a post block and an artistic marked envelope were published, dedicated to the artist and his work. Also, an artistic marked envelope with the image of B. M. Kustodiev was released in 2003 (artist B. Ilyukhin, circulation 1,000,000 copies).

In Astrakhan, next to the Astrakhan Art Gallery named after P. M. Dogadin, there is a monument to Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev.

House-Museum of Kustodiev B.M. in Astrakhan is located at st. Kalinina, 26 / st. Sverdlova, 68.

A street in the Vyborg district of St. Petersburg is named after B. M. Kustodiev.

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev(February 23 (March 7), Astrakhan - May 26, Leningrad) - Russian artist.

Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev, originally from the family of a gymnasium teacher, began studying painting in Astrakhan with P. A. Vlasov in 1893-1896.

Biography

His father died when the future artist was not even two years old. Boris studied at a parish school, then at a gymnasium. From the age of 15 he took drawing lessons from a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts P. Vlasov.

• - taught at the New Art Workshop (St. Petersburg).
• - Member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia.

Addresses in St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad

• 1914 - apartment building - Ekateringofsky Avenue, 105;
• 1915 - 05/26/1927 - apartment building of E.P. Mikhailov - Vvedenskaya street, 7, apt. 50.

Illustrations and book graphics

In 1905-1907 he worked in the satirical magazines “Bug” (the famous drawing “Introduction. Moscow”), “Hell Mail” and “Sparks”.

With a keen sense of line, Kustodiev performed cycles of illustrations for classical works and for the creations of his contemporaries (illustrations for Leskov’s works “The Darner”, 1922, “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk”, 1923).

Possessing a strong touch, he worked in the technique of lithography and engraving on linoleum.

Painting

Kustodiev began his career as a portrait artist. Already while working on sketches for Repin’s “Great Meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901,” student Kustodiev showed his talent as a portrait painter. In sketches and portrait sketches for this multi-figure composition, he coped with the task of achieving similarities with Repin’s creative style. But Kustodiev the portrait painter was closer to Serov. Painterly plasticity, free long strokes, bright characteristics of appearance, emphasis on the artistry of the model - these were mostly portraits of fellow students and teachers of the Academy - but without Serov's psychologism. Kustodiev incredibly quickly for a young artist, but deservedly won fame as a portrait painter among the press and customers. However, according to A. Benoit:

“... the real Kustodiev is a Russian fair, motley, “big-eyed” calicoes, a barbaric “fight of colors”, a Russian suburb and a Russian village, with their accordions, gingerbread, dressed up girls and dashing guys... I claim that this is his real sphere, his real joy... When he writes fashionable ladies and respectable citizens, it is completely different - boring, sluggish, often even tasteless. And it seems to me that it’s not the plot, but the approach to it.”

Already from the beginning of the 1900s, Boris Mikhailovich was developing a unique genre of portrait, or rather, portrait-picture, portrait-type, in which the model is linked together with the surrounding landscape or interior. At the same time, this is a generalized image of a person and his unique individuality, revealing it through the world surrounding the model. In their form, these portraits are related to the genre images-types of Kustodiev (“Self-portrait” (1912), portraits of A. I. Anisimov (1915), F. I. Chaliapin (1922)).

But Kustodiev’s interests went beyond the portrait: it was no coincidence that he chose a genre painting (“At the Bazaar” (1903), not preserved) for his diploma work. In the early 1900s, for several years in a row he went to perform field work in the Kostroma province. In 1906, Kustodiev presented works that were new in their concept - a series of canvases on the themes of brightly festive peasant and provincial petty-bourgeois-merchant life (“Balagany”, “Maslenitsa”), in which the features of Art Nouveau are visible. The works are spectacular and decorative, revealing the Russian character through the everyday genre. On a deeply realistic basis, Kustodiev created a poetic dream, a fairy tale about provincial Russian life. In these works, great importance is attached to line, pattern, color spot, forms are generalized and simplified - the artist turns to gouache, tempera. The artist's works are characterized by stylization - he studies Russian parsuna of the 16th-18th centuries, lubok, signs of provincial shops and taverns, and folk crafts.

Subsequently, Kustodiev gradually shifted more and more towards an ironic stylization of folk and, especially, the life of the Russian merchants with a riot of colors and flesh (“Beauty”, “Merchant’s Wife at Tea”).

Theater works

Like many artists of the turn of the century, Kustodiev also worked in the theater, transferring his vision of the work to the theater stage. The scenery performed by Kustodiev was colorful, close to his genre painting, but this was not always perceived as an advantage: creating a bright and convincing world, carried away by its material beauty, the artist sometimes did not coincide with the author’s plan and the director’s reading of the play (“The Death of Pazukhin” by Saltykov- Shchedrin, 1914, Moscow Art Theater; “The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky, which never saw the light of day, 1918). In his later works for the theater, he moves away from a chamber interpretation to a more generalized one, seeks greater simplicity, builds the stage space, giving freedom to the director when constructing mise-en-scenes. Kustodiev's success was his design work in 1918-20. opera performances (1920, The Tsar's Bride, Bolshoi Opera Theater of the People's House; 1918, The Snow Maiden, Bolshoi Theater (not staged)).

The productions of Zamyatin’s “The Flea” (1925, Moscow Art Theater 2nd; 1926, Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater) were successful. According to the memoirs of the director of the play A.D. Dikiy:

“It was so vivid, so precise that my role as a director accepting sketches was reduced to zero - I had nothing to correct or reject. It was as if he, Kustodiev, had been in my heart, overheard my thoughts, read Leskov’s story with the same eyes as me, and equally saw it in stage form. ... I have never had such complete, such inspiring like-mindedness with an artist as when working on the play “The Flea.” I learned the full meaning of this community when Kustodiev’s farcical, bright decorations appeared on the stage, and props and props made according to his sketches appeared. The artist led the entire performance, taking, as it were, the first part in the orchestra, which obediently and sensitively sounded in unison.”

After 1917, the artist participated in the decoration of Petrograd for the 1st anniversary of the October Revolution, painted posters, popular prints and paintings on revolutionary themes (“Bolshevik”, 1919-20, Tretyakov Gallery; “Celebration in honor of the 2nd Congress of the Comintern on Uritsky Square” , 1921, Russian Museum).

Literary activity

B. M. Kustodiev. Letters. Articles, notes, interviews..., [L., 1967].

Gallery

• "Introduction. Moscow" drawing
• “Morning”, (1904, Russian Russian Museum)
• "Balagany"
• "Trade fairs"
• "Maslenitsa"
• self-portrait ( , Uffizi Gallery, Florence)
• “Merchantwomen in Kineshma” (tempera, Museum of Russian Art in Kyiv)
• portrait of A. I. Anisimov ( , Russian Museum)
• “Beauty” (1915, Tretyakov Gallery)
• “Merchant's Wife at Tea” (1918, Russian Museum)
• "Bolshevik" (1919-20, Tretyakov Gallery)
• "F. I. Chaliapin at the fair" ( , Russian Museum)
• "Moscow tavern" ()
• “Portrait of A.N. Protasova” ()
• "Nun" ()
• "Portrait of Ivan Bilibin" ()
• “Portrait of S.A. Nikolsky” ()
• “Portrait of Vasily Vasilyevich Mate” ()
• "Self-portrait" ()
• "Portrait of a Woman in Blue" ()
• “Portrait of the writer A.V. Shvarts” ()
• "Fair" ()
• "Zemstvo school in Moscow Rus'" ()
• “Portrait of Irina Kustodieva with her dog Shumka” ()
• "Nun" ()
• “Portrait of N.I. Zelenskaya” ()
• "Freezing day" ()
• “Portrait of N.K. von Mecca" ()
• "Portrait of Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich" ()
• "Harvest" ()
• “Illustration for N.S. Leskov’s story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” ()
• “Village holiday. Fragment" ()
• “At the Icon of the Savior” ()
• “The square is at the exit of the city. Scenery sketch for A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “Warm Heart” ()
• "Red Tower of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra" ()

see also

• Astrakhan Art Gallery named after P. M. Dogadin (formerly named after B. M. Kustodiev)

Notes

Bibliography

• Voinov V. B. M. Kustodiev. - L., 1925.
• Knyazeva V. P. Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev: (1878-1927), exhibition catalog / State Russian Museum; [author preface]. - L.: State. Russian Museum, 1959. - 117, p., l. ill., portrait
• Etkind M. B. M. Kustodiev. - L. - M., 1960.
• Lebedeva V. E. Kustodiev: Painting. Drawing. Theater. Book. Printmaking. - M.: Nauka, 1966. - 244 p. - 10,000 copies.(in lane, superreg.)
• Savitskaya T. A. B. M. Kustodiev. - M.: Art, 1966. - 148, p. - 25,000 copies.(region, superregion)
• Etkind M. G. Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. - L.: Artist of the RSFSR, 1968. - 64 p. - (People's Art Library). - 20,000 copies.(region)
• Alekseeva A. I. The sun on a frosty day: (Kustodiev) / Drawings in the text and on the tab by B. Kustodiev; Cover and titles by the artist B. Ardov.. - M.: Young Guard, 1978. - 176, p. - (Pioneer means first. Issue 60). - 100,000 copies.(in translation)
• Lebedeva V. E. Kustodiev: Time. Life. Creation. - L.: Children's literature, 1984. - 160 p. - 75,000 copies.(in translation)
• Turkov A. M. Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev. - M.: Art, 1986. - 160, p. - (Life in art). - 100,000 copies.
• Bogdanov-Berezovsky V. M. Kustodiev // Meetings. - M.: Art, 1967. - P. 159-190. - 280 s. - 25,000 copies.

Links

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• Born on March 7
• Born in 1878
• Born in Astrakhan
• Died on May 26
• Died in 1927
• Died in St. Petersburg
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• Union of Russian Artists
• Russian artists in the public domain
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• Buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery
• Pensioners of the Imperial Academy of Arts
• Graduates of the Imperial Academy of Arts

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